Follow the Clockworks
by Biff3r
Summary: When a gathering is called on the day of the Finding, Alfred, Arthur and Matthew find themselves plunged into unexpected positions. RP with @into-a-fantasy-world on tumblr. She has Arthur's POV, I've got Alfred and Matt's.
1. Chapter 1

The large bells rung throughout the city, alerting all the citizens what time of year it was. Jack Yao was resuming the yearly search for a new king, and now a queen. Spades hadn't had a king for 5 years, after the old king died, he left his queen to rule the kingdom. She was a great ruler, she kept the kingdom of Spades well-kept, and all the citizens were happy under her reign.

Alfred, at the ripe age of nineteen, was finally eligible and even required to go to the palace for the search. So, on the day of the Finding, as Spades called it, Alfred set off to the palace with his brother Matthew at his side and a pouch of twenty gold coins in his pocket. "In case anything goes wary", his mother had said when she insisted that he take it. He hadn't wanted to take it, they could still live comfortably without it, sure, but that still didn't change the fact that he didn't like taking money from his mother.

"Hey," Matthew spoke up as they were on the sidewalk, pushing through the busy market stands, "what would you do if you became king?" he asked.

"I dunno. Maybe I would finally sort out the treaty we have with Clubs that says none of Spade's citizens are allowed in Clubs. And the reason is secret. Which is pretty damn stupid if ya ask me." Alfred responded, nodding his head as he walked past the various busy vendors.

As Matthew and he approached the large stone castle walls, they fell silent, chatter dying down as they listened to and admired everything around them. A guard stopped them, giving them a once over before sending Matthew in the direction of the Ace's line. Alfred was shocked, staring after Matthew as he walked hesitantly away after shooting Alfred a timid smile. The guard looked Alfred over once before nodding his head in the direction of the King's lineup. He stood in line, noticing that he could see the queen's line from where he stood. He saw lots of people, ranging from pretty girls to tall and muscular men. One, in particular, stood out. He was wearing a grey vest and black slacks with a white cravat, even though it seemed all to hot out for such attire. What was even more odd, his clothes we're well kept but his sandy hair looked unruly. And if that wasn't bad enough, he had beautiful emerald eyes, with gigantic black stocky eyebrows… That were angled downward and were glaring at him.

On the day of the Finding Arthur was in a worse mood than usual. He honestly thought the whole thing was ridiculous and wanted no part in it. But both his mother and father had ordered him to go, and since he didn't want to argue with them, he finally gave in and went

His four older brothers were also in attendance and he walked with them all the way to the castle walls. When all four were sent to the King's line he expected the same for him, but was a bit surprised to be ordered to go to the Queen's line. He grumbled a bit but supposed it didn't matter. He didn't think he would become the next Queen anyway so he didn't linger on the subject for too long. What was interesting to watch was how fast and how long the lines were becoming. There were more eligible people than he had thought.

Standing there in line was becoming difficult for him now. The clothes he wore were making him hotter and hotter as time passed. Yes, he could have worn much cooler and comfortable clothes, but he wanted to look presentable. He could endure the heat for a little longer. But looking around he noticed something, or rather, someone staring at him from the King's line. He glared at him hoping that the other boy would stop his incessant starring. After a while it seemed to be going nowhere as the other blue eyed blond hadn't ceased his staring. Arthur turned his head away and looked forward at the castle entrance.

Loud trumpets emanated from the entrance of the castle as large wooden doors slowly opened wide and Arthur took a deep breath. To be truthful he was nervous about this. Would he be chosen for the new Queen of Spades? And what would happen if he was chosen? He didn't think he was capable of running a kingdom. There wasn't much time to dwell on this thought though. Everyone was now ready to pick the new King and Queen of Spades.

Alfred hadn't realized he'd been staring for so long until the trumpets sounded out from the palace doors, demanding the attention of all around. The large doors opened and Jack Yao stepped out, leaning over and saying something to the servant next to him before clearing his throat and speaking up.

"I thank all of you for attending the search for royalty today. Today, Spades will find a new King, and hopefully a new queen. With this clock," Alfred watched intently as the jack pulled out a clock in the shape of a key about the size of his hand. He walked over to the Ace's section. "Now," he said, "Aces are the rarest throughout the Kingdoms, as they are magical beings. But," Alfred looked up in anticipation, "it appears that there is one among today." A collective gasp was heard throughout the crowd, and a small murmur sprung to notice. The Jack cleared his throat, "Ahem, as I was saying before; there is an Ace among us. I will now use the Ace's clock, which has been used by the kingdom since the first Ace, almost 34 reigns ago." In spades, they still had years, but royalty often referred to previous royalty as "reigns", to stop any confusion from those unfamiliar with the Spade Kingdom's royal line.

Yao stepped forward, eyes on the clock, as if he couldn't see anything else. He walked about ten paces, stride gradually slowing down as he kept walking. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked straight up into the eyes of the young man before him. He stepped two paced to the right, keeping his eyes on the hands of the clock, watching as they followed the boy. He did the same with the left, eliciting the same response from the clock. He was certain that this was who it was pointing to. He looked up at the boy. He had wavy blonde hair that was at shoulder length; violet eyes that shines with terror up at him, round glasses perched upon his nose. But Yao could see a warrior in his eyes, even with the soft polar bear in his arms. "You," Yao whispered, looking him in they eyes, "what is your name?" This only seemed to frighten the boy more, as he squared his shoulders and stiffened even further.

After a moment he replied "Matthew," he took a quivering breath, "Matthew Williams…" Alfred was speechless, he was about to step forward and say it was a mistake. There was no way his brother - Matthew, the softest person he knew, could ever be an Ace!

He shook his head, steeping forward. "Hey-" he was cut off as another man in the same line as he harshly pulled him back. Alfred looked at the man angrily, but couldn't help the terrified look that seeped into his own gaze.

"I've had the crown take away my family to, but be happy, he will serve greatness to the kingdom. The clock never lies, however unlikely the match may seem." The man looked solemnly at Alfred, with an integrity so fierce it was as if he was daring Alfred to question him. Alfred nodded grimly, stepping back into his place next to the man in line.

Yao smiled, looking around at the citizens lined up. "The clock has chosen a wonderful new Ace by the name of Matthew Williams!" The crowd around Alfred broke into cheers, signaling their happiness for the new Ace. Spades hasn't had an Ace since Alfred great grandfather was around, who happened to be that Ace. But Matthew had no bloodline connecting them, Matt and Alfred had different fathers.

"I will now choose the King." The once rowdiness of the palace yard quieted down as the anticipation for the next King settled in. Yao called a servant over to him, who handed him a Spade shaped watch from atop a felt pillow. Yao looked down at the watch thoughtfully for a few moments before walking forward, eyes focused solely on the clock in his hand. Alfred's mind was plagued with fear. What if I never see Matthew again!? Matthew hadn't really ever been outspoken since they were born, so there was no way he would be able to go on without Alfred to be there for him! That's it! he thought, I just have to be the King and Matt will be fine! He knew that he wasn't thinking straight, but for now, the thought eased his qualm. He thought about how he would never have to worry about being away from Matthew again, and how he would be able to protect his brother. Don't worry, Matt, I've got yo-

"You." Alfred jumped a little in his spot, staring wide eyed as Yao stood before him, watch in hand, with both arrows pointing directly at him. All thoughts fled from Alfred's mind as his eyes landed on that clock. Oh God, he realized, I'm not fit to be royalty either! At the front door, he could see Matthew gaping at him. Alfred hesitantly looked up and met Yao's gaze. "What's your name?"

Alfred laughed skittishly, rubbing at his arms, a nervous habit he had. "Alfred Jones." The Jack examined Alfred's expressions, looking for something.

After a moment he sighed, "very well." he said, preparing the announcement. Alfred felt the man from before nudge him, Alfred looked over and saw the man, smiling at him, as if to say "what were you worried about?" Yao cleared his throat loudly, garnering the attention of everyone around. "The clock has found a new King. Alfred Jones will now be the King of Spades, may the Gods be with you forevermore." The crowd erupted into cheers even louder than when a rare Ace was found. Yao nodded him to where Matthew was standing, announcing that he was now to find the Queen.

Alfred ran over to Matthew faster than he even knew possible and engulfed him in his arms, hugging his brother as if his life depended on it. Matthew of course wrapped his arms around Alfred as well, pulling back after a moment so they were about a foot apart. "Al," he spoke, his voice wavering, "what are we gonna do?"

Alfred looked at his brother solemnly, worriedly shaking his head. "I dunno, Matt. I really don't know…"

Arthur was a bit grateful when it actually started. He was still nervous yes and he listened to what the Jack had to say before letting his mind wander. He didn't pay attention to who the new Ace was. He just heard loud clapping and cheering from the crowds. The same went for the King. He wanted to this to end so he could go back to old normal life.

When he looked up though he saw the two people hugging at the castle doors. There wasn't much time to think about the two because he saw the Jack walking down the Queen's line. Time seemed to stop as the Jack slowed his pace stopping in front of Arthur. His heart sped up in nervousness and panic.

'Oh no. Please not me…' He thought. The Jack raised his head to look at Arthur. The green eyed man felt himself take a small step back as he was asked for his name.

"I-I'm not your Queen. I can't be there has to be a mistake." Arthur took another step back. People were now staring at him making his nerves worsen. This was exactly what he was afraid of. Now what was he supposed to do? He didn't want this. What also made this bad was that he could see his brothers from the Kings line now glaring at him. All of them had fire and fury in their eyes. He knew they were blaming him that they weren't the new king. That their little brother had taken their chance at royalty away. He wanted to leave.

"The clock doesn't make a mistake. You are the new Queen. Now please, what is your name?" The Jack Yao asked again and Arthur swallowed hard before reluctantly giving his name. His name was announced and the cheering was deafening to him. He walked up to the front castle doors and stood beside the newly announced King and Ace.

Yao stepped up and stood beside the three of them. He voice was loud and carried out as he spoke his next words. "The clock has chosen these three brave men to rule our kingdom. May the Gods bless them and our land. Long live the Kingdom of Spades!" The crowd repeated his last words and cheered loudly once more. The whole kingdom seemed to be there relieved and happy to finally to see their new rulers.

After the cheering had died down some the Jack brought the three into the castle and Arthur's breath caught. Just the inside front of the palace was beautiful, but his mind was still racing around trying to comprehend everything. Because of this he hadn't really heard what the Jack had said to them. Arthur just stood there motionless.


	2. Chapter 2

Alfred stood next to Matthew at the castle doors, watching as the boy from earlier stepped back when he was asked for his name. If he looked like he was angry before, he was furious now. But as the man approached, Arthur as Yao has announced, Alfred noticed he looked more terrified than Matthew. He could understand why, at least Matthew had him, but Arthur was almost being forced to leave his family behind. Yao walked behind Arthur as the two of them walked toward Matthew and he. Arthur glared at Alfred as he walked up to him.

Yao looked between the three for a moment before commanding them to follow him into the throne room to meet the previous Queen. Alfred walked close to Matthew, looking around the gallant castle walls. Yao opened two large blue doors, a spade painted between them. Inside, two thrones sat, one slightly more extravagant than the other, but not differing in royal shades of blue and practically covered in spades. On the slightly smaller throne to the right, sat a women of about fifty or sixty, smiling with a wrinkled face, mirth gleaming in her eyes.

She was the prettiest women Alfred had ever seen. Not aesthetically, he'd seen much fairer girls being courted throughout the city. But the Queen, or former Queen, smiled a knowing smile. A true happiness shined in her eyes, as if saying 'it may not seem so great now, but you will be a great reign'. Alfred had only ever saw the Queen once before, when he was six and before his father had died.

"You will make a great impact on Spades, I can see it in the bond between you three."

Alfred was confused by the statement, what bond did Matthew and he have to Arthur? Alfred looked over to Arthur for an answer, but found that Arthur looked on at the Queen with an enraged gaze. Alfred didn't know what the Queen had said to upset Arthur, but she hadn't just _upset _him, he looked like he was ready to kill.

Arthur continued to look at the Queen for a moment, but the moment he opened his mouth, ready to finally speak his mind Alfred lurched into action and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back towards himself. "What will be our duties as royalty?" he inquired, tightening his grip on Arthur's forearm as he smiled at the Queen.

Arthur had wanted to say something to the Queen, but was abruptly stopped by Alfred. He winced at the tight hold on his arm and jerked it away. His eyes were still on the Queen who just smiled at them.

"Well," The Queen started, "nothing at first. But before anything officially happens my Jack needs to give you three some simple lessons on Spade's history of royals and quick training. The Ace will have separate training from the King and Queen. The jobs are very different so we will have a different training process for you." She smiled at Matthew before shifting her focus onto the two other boys. "After all the lessons and training the formal coronation will take place. Since my King is sadly no longer here, Yao will work with the new King to show him what his specific duties are. I will work with the new Queen. Their tasks are very different from each other so I'm not exactly sure what your duties are. I only know the Queens."

She stood from her throne and elegantly walked down the stairs leading from the thrones and stood in front of all three. Her smile was sweet as she told them they will be great rulers of the kingdom. The Queen then ordered for the Jack to show the three their new rooms as she went off to attend to some private matters of her own. The Jack bowed to her as she left and told the boys to follow him. As they were shown the way to their rooms the Jack spoke to them about many things, but Arthur paid no mind to them. He was angry and confused about everything that had happened.

'_Why me?" _Hethought. _"Why was I chosen to be Queen? I'm nothing special and I sure as hell can't run a bloody kingdom! I don't understand any of this…'_

Arthur's thoughts stopped when he reached two large doors and was told that this was where the King and Queen would sleep together and the Ace's sleeping quarters were just down the hall. This instantly caught Arthur's attention

"Wait a minute." He said getting the others attention. "You expect me to share a room with him?" He pointed to Alfred. "I barley know him and I refuse to share anything with him. Especially a room."

"I'm afraid there isn't anything I can do. You two are going to be the new King and Queen. Therefore you two must share a room." The Jack informed politely and Arthur glared at him before letting out a tired sighed.

"Whatever. I'm too tired for this. If there isn't anything else I'm going to retire for the night." Without another word Arthur opened the door to his _shared_ room and walked in before slamming the door shut behind him. He rubbed his hands over his face trying to calm down. It wasn't even a few minutes before he heard hesitant quiet knocking on the door.

"Go away." He called. When the other person ignored him and opened the door anyway, Arthur turned around and yelled. "I said go awa–" He stopped when he saw who had entered the room.

Alfred stood at the door, having lost way to his own guilt when he saw how much Arthur didn't want his newly granted position. Alfred had looked to Matthew after Arthur had stormed off, as if asking _should I go after him?_

In the end, he gave in and decided to follow after Arthur. He knocked lightly, as to not further irritate the Brit. "Go away," was the immediate response, but he wouldn't let that deter him. After a moment he opened the door, he heard Arthur protest, but it died on his lips as he saw Alfred enter the room.

"Hey," Alfred said, albeit awkwardly. He looked at Arthur, who continued to scowl at him, but didn't say anything more in protest as he fully stepped into the room. "So look," he started, only to realize he didn't actually know where he was going with it. He just wanted Arthur to feel better. He wasn't sure why, but he coudn't stand to see the guy down or scared. When he was angry, however, Alfred found that it was quite comical. He hadn't known the new Queen very long, but he felt a strange draw towards the man.

Arthur cleared his throat loudly, refocusing Alfred. "You were saying?" He sounded irritated, but not the funny kind. Alfred felt his cheeks warm slightly, and hoped it wasn't as blatantly noticeable as it felt. He looked at Arthur a moment before gulping and gathering his thoughts.

"It-" he stopped, it what? "It may not seem it now, but I think that before we can say that the decision is wrong, we should try and play it, right?" He looked at Arthur, hoping for any type of reaction. When he received nothing but an unimpressed stare, he decided to continue. "We're about the same age right? We don't know what we wanna do when we grow up, what our passions are, who we wanna spend the rest of our lives with, right? Well now we have bigger selections. Sure, if we're gonna be the royalty of Spades, we can't go into other professions, but that doesn't mean that we can't spend all of our free time doing what we love. Now that you're royalty, Arthur, that pretty girl that you'd liked for a long time now, but was a duke, is now in your range of courting."

He doubted that Arthur would have any trouble courting any class, judging by his mannerisms and his clothing, he was already upper-class. While Alfred and Matthew, they were middle-class, living comfortably; but not so comfortably that they could hire servants and didn't have a budget.

Arthur looked at him thoughtfully, but he didn't look angry or sad anymore, which relieved Alfred more than he would've liked to admit.

When Arthur saw who was at the door he wasn't too happy to see Alfred, but he was glad it wasn't Yao. He felt the Jack would be giving a lecture or some other nonsense that Arthur did _not_ want to deal with right now.

He listened to what Alfred had to say, and by the end of it he sighed. He was so tired and just wanted this day to end. Arthur shook his head at the other boy and walked over to the bed to sit down.

"First of all, for your information, there is no girl. I don't want anything like that. Second of all, I never wanted this. I never wanted any of this. Why was I even picked? If I hadn't gone to the Finding I wouldn't be in this mess. Someone else who would be a much better option for this position would have been picked. I'm a horrible choice for a Queen." He ran his hands through his hair and took a quick glace over at Alfred. He noted that the boy looked a little uncomfortable. Probably because of Arthur's complaining.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be yelling or complaining to you." Arthur normally wouldn't be so open with his emotions. Normally he would bottle them up around people and then let them out when he was alone. It was different with Alfred though, but he wasn't sure why.

"Aren't you angry about this?" Arthur suddenly asked. "Your whole life is being thrown away and you cant do anything now. You're trapped. Don't you want to do something for yourself or go out and explore the world? Aren't you angry about this whole thing? You even said yourself that we cant do anything else. We have to run this kingdom now no matter what. We can't pass this to anybody else."

He watched Alfred shuffle around a bit, it seemed like he was trying to come up with an answer to his question. It was that or he was still uncomfortable around Arthur and his complaining. He honestly wasn't making the best first impression on anybody today.

As Arthur explained himself, Alfred became slightly uncomfortable. It wasn't because of Arthur talking about his doubts, but because he'd had these same thoughts not to long ago himself. The only way he'd gotten over it, was by telling himself that this_ wasn't _by chance. He was chosen as King because he was fit to rule, and Arthur was chosen because he was fit to rule _too_. He just wished he could convince the man to have more faith in himself.

He paused, looking at Arthur's expression before he even attempted to answer his question. What _had_ he wanted to do with himself? That's right, he desperately wanted to be an astronomer. His mother had always been supportive, but even he could tell that she thought that his dreams were too ambitious to ever be achievable.

"I wanted to be an astronomer. Back at my old house, we had the clearest view of the night sky. Every night since I was little I sat outside and watched the stars until I would almost fall asleep outside from exhaustion. Sometimes I _did! _I look up at the sky and I don't see stars in the sky, I see white dots on a black canvas! A large open sky with thousands of stars millions and millions of light years away staring down at me, asking- _calling_ me to them! A vast and endless sky, full of vast and endless opportunities that are just waiting to be discovered!"

He was in love with the sky, the only thing that still seemed impossible to reach; even from the tallest towers of the world. He loved everything about the stars, from the way they looked after a rain, the way they seemed only to shine brighter on bad day, everything. He wanted so, so badly to spend the rest if his days in the stars, simply gazing at them.

But he couldn't. Not now. Alfred felt tears start to sting in his eyes, blinking rapidly to push them back. Arthur was speechless, frozen by Alfred's sudden speech.

Alfred looked back, "I- I had dreams too. We all did. But that doesn't mean that this is a mistake. As much as I wanted to be an astronomer then, it was still out of my reach. I only had the liberty to do so then, liberty that may now be inaccessible. But, I'm King now, so maybe being an astronomer or studying astronomy isn't so much out of reach as it is a problem with time.

"We _are _royalty, and there's nothing we can do about it, whether we like it or not. But I don't think you're not right for Queen, and I don't think I'm wrong for King. We just need to learn. Learn to rule, learn to work together, and learn to live. I like you, Arthur, I don't think you're a bad guy." Alfred flushed, he didn't mean it like that, he just thought that Arthur was a cool guy and he was getting of topic where was he? "A-Anyways, I think we should catch up to Yao and Matt now!" He rushed out of the room, only sparing a fleeing glance at Arthur as he ducked out of the room.

Oh God. Oh God, he was an _idiot! _


End file.
